Frieze New York

TRENDSPOTTING AT FRIEZE

The problem with art fairs, as critics have long bemoaned, is that they’re not a great way to look at art. Instead of digesting works in healthy, gallery-sized portions, it’s all about speed and quantity. It’s like bellying up to the buffet at the Bellagio: At first you’re thrilled by the bounty, but soon there’s just too much, it’s all mashed together and everything starts to taste the same.

And a few hours into Frieze, which hit New York for the first time, May 4-7, 2012, on Randall’s Island, everything inevitably started to look like just one thing after another -- especially since the Armory Show just took place across town in March. But instead of fighting the monotony, we embraced it, and hunted amid the 180 galleries for a few trends, illustrated here in this slideshow.

RACHEL CORBETT is news editor at Artnet Magazine. She can be reached at